The purpose of the research project is to examine the interaction of genetic and environmental factors which affect aging and longevity. A multidisciplinary approach has been adopted to deal with the various biological and environmental components which affect the aging process. The disciplines examining the components of aging are biological anthropology and genetics, medicine, physiology, cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology. In addition to the partitioning of genetic and environmental factors, the effects of inbreeding on longevity will be examined, a method for determining biological vs chronological aging will be tested, historic trends in the life expectancy of the study population will be analyzed, cultural normative values and structures will be compared with the actual statistic patterns observed, and a theory of subjective competence will be developed regarding social aging processes. In addition, patterns of longevity and mortality in the historical Alexanderwohl congregation will be determined through the analysis of church and historical records. Records date back to the Seventeenth Century and document the migration of the Alexanderwohl community during their sojourns from Prussia to Russia to Kansas.